The Tragedy of the Hebrew Dramatic Club

The fatal event occurred at the hall where the Hebrew Dramatic Club was giving a performance. During the melodrama 'The Spanish Gypsy Girl,' some boys, to get a better view, climbed upon an exposed gas pipe along the wall. The pipe was strained and began to leak. Someone shouted, 'Turn off the meter!' This cry was raised simultaneously with an alarm from the actors on stage. The audience, almost entirely Jewish, panicked. Despite the manager’s earnest efforts to allay the excitement and keep the exits clear, the crowd surged. Many interpreted his appeals as proof of an actual fire. The main entrance, ten feet wide, became a site of brutal struggle. People were trampled and crushed. A venerable Hebrew, Isaac Levy, was found dead with his wife; he had apparently tried to protect her. A little girl, identified as Eva Marks, was also among the dead. The scene in the hall today resembles a disordered auction room, with broken furniture, children’s aprons, and blood stains on the floor. Police have since offered contradictory stories, including a baseless rumor that thieves started the fire alarm to rob the attendees of their jewelry.